Dodge County has added another feather to their athletic cap. Brooke Nardi, a rising senior, has added several archery championships. She was the top overall shooter in the Georgia State Championship. That included both boys and girls. With the championship she was awarded a trophy, a plaque, a genesis bow and a $5,000 scholarship to the school of her choice.
She then advanced to the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) tournament where she finished 11th in the girls division out of 13,000 state qualifiers 2004 shooters of which were females. She advanced to the World NASP Archery Tournament. She had a great showing as she finished eighth out of 584 in the nationally qualifying high school females from the United States, Canada and Mongolia.
Nardi began her climb in 2012 when she joined the Dodge County Middle School (DCMS) Archery Team. In 2012 she ended her season nationally ranked 2,320.
Last year, after competing against 13,399 other state champions and their teams, Nardi ranked 23rd in the USA Nationals, qualifying her for the World Tournament. From the original 2.2 million archers in the NASP, only 5,176 international and national archers competed at the world tournament. Over 21,000 people attended the event including archers from USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Libya, South Africa and more.
From a 2012 ranking of 2,320 nationally to this years eighth female in the nation is a testament to hard work and dedication to a craft.
When asked about her road to her skill of archery, Nardi said a friend wanted her to join the archery team at DCMS, where she humbly admitted that she was terrible. Never having been so bad at something in her life, she dedicated herself with tireless hours of work. Her mother Heather Molewski explained that the only reason that she made the team was because the coaches saw an outstanding quality in her, which was that she was very coachable. Being very coachable is when an athlete easily takes criticism and tips from coaches and turns those things into a drive to better oneself.
With her middle school coaches Tara Dennis and Randy Dennis, Nardi worked and trained until she had eventually began to hone her skill. At more than one point Randy Dennis completely changed Nardi’s strategy, much like taking apart an engine and putting it back together to pull more power out of it.
When Nardi made it to high school she did what many great athletes did at one point in their life, she watched listened and learned from her older peers. She said she used to just sit and watch the older archers to fine tune her own skill level. With the guidance of Elaine Pittman and Todd Howard she realized she had finally found something she loved doing. Things that we fall in love with truly have a way of finding us much like the tip of an arrow to its mark.
Nardi states that before a competition she prepares by listening to music with her headphones on and she prays. She uses this quiet time to calm herself and get into the zone. Two Bible verses that drive her are “Now therefore, please take your weapon, your quiver and your bow and go into the field and get me venison.” Gen 27:3 and “I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth” Gen 9:13.
Nardi is the daughter of Heather and Joe Molewski of Eastman, the granddaughter of Dan Golden of Ware Shoals, South Carolina and Sherry and David Bauknight of Union, South Carolina. Her father is Tim Nardi and paternal grandparents are Tony and Joanne Nardi all of North Augusta, South Carolina. She has four siblings, Brayden Nardi, Barrett Nardi, Benjamin Molewski and Alec Molewski.
Nardi said, “Thank you God for this tremendous opportunity. Thank you to my family, school, teachers, coaches and Dodge County for your support in this amazing sport.”
The story of this tremendous competitor is much like that of many successful athletes that vowed to never be outworked. Brooke Nardi is truly a shining beacon for young athletes. Her story is simple; it all begins with trying, followed by hard work and a willingness to learn and grow. The community is proud and honored.